Contactless method for measuring total charge of an insulating layer on a substrate using corona charge

ABSTRACT

A method of measuring total charge of an insulating layer on a semiconductor substrate includes applying corona charges to the insulating layer and measuring a surface photovoltage of the insulating layer after applying each of the corona charges. The charge density of each of the corona charges is measured with a coulombmeter. A total corona charge required to obtain a surface photovoltage of a predetermined fixed value is determined and used to calculate the total charge of the insulating layer. The fixed value corresponds to either a flatband or midband condition.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to testing a semiconductor wafer and, more particularly, to measuring a total charge of an insulating layer of the semiconductor wafer using corona charge.

The production of insulating layers, particularly, thin oxide layers, is basic to the fabrication of integrated circuit devices on semiconductor wafers. A variety of insulating dielectric layers are used for a wide range of applications. These insulating layers can be used, for example, to separate gate layers from underlying silicon gate regions, as storage capacitors in DRAM circuits, for electrical device isolation and to electrically isolate multilayer metal layers.

The devices, however, are very sensitive to induced charges near the silicon surface. In most cases, device performance depends strongly on the concentration of free charges in the silicon. As a result, unwanted variations in device performance can be introduced by charges in the insulating layer and the insulating layer interface. The charges can result, for example, from static charging of the insulating layer surface, poorly forming the insulating layer, excessive ionic contamination within the insulating layer, and metallic contamination within the insulating layer. In addition to degradation of device performance, electrical isolation of individual devices can be impaired by unwanted surface channels due to induced charges. A property of increasing interest, therefore, is total charge Q_(tot) or sometimes referred to as net charge Q_(net) of the insulating layer.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, there are five principle components of the total charge Q_(tot) of an oxide layer: surface charge Q_(s); mobile charge Q_(m); oxide trapped charge Q_(ot); fixed charge Q_(f); and interface trapped charge Q_(it). The surface charge Q_(s) is charge on the top surface of the oxide layer and is frequently static charge or charged contaminants such as metallics. The mobile charge Q_(m) is ionic contamination in the oxide layer such as potassium, lithium, or sodium trapped near the air/SiO₂ interface or the Si/SiO₂ interface. The oxide trapped charge Q_(ot) is electrons or holes trapped in the bulk oxide. The fixed charge Q_(f) is charge at the Si/SiO₂ interface. The interface trapped charge Q_(it) varies as a function of bias condition.

Conventional methods of determining the total charge Q_(tot) of an oxide layer include capacitance-voltage (CV) surface photovoltage (SPV) with biasing, and SPV analysis. The CV method typically measures each of the individual component charges, except the surface charge Q_(s) which can be measured by the CV method, with a metal contact formed on the surface of the oxide layer and then obtains the total charge Q_(tot) by summing up the individual component charges. The SPV with biasing method uses a contacting probe separated from the oxide layer with a Mylar insulator to bias the semiconductor. The total charge Q_(tot) is determined by measuring the required bias of the probe to force a certain SPV. The SPV analysis method takes SPV measurements and infers the total charge Q_(tot) via theoretical modeling.

While these methods may obtain the total charge Q_(tot), they each have drawbacks. The CV method requires expensive and time consuming sample preparation. The SPV with biasing method requires a contacting probe which can allow charge transfer from the oxide layer to the probe. The SPV analysis method relies on theoretical modeling and may not be extremely accurate. Additionally, the SPV methods only work over a narrow range of total charge Q_(tot), when the semiconductor is in depletion. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved method of measuring the total charge of an insulating layer which is contactless, is a direct measurement with no theoretical modeling, is sensitive over a wide range of total charge, and is extremely accurate.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method for measuring a total charge of an insulating layer on a substrate which overcomes at least some of the disadvantages of the above-noted related art. According to the present invention, the method includes depositing corona charges on the insulating layer and measuring a surface photovoltage for the insulating layer after depositing each of the corona charges. The method further includes determining a total corona charge required to obtain a surface photovoltage of a predetermined fixed value and using the total corona charge to determine the total charge.

According to one variation of the method according to the present invention, the total corona charge is determined by continuing to deposit the corona charges until the surface photovoltage measured is equal the fixed value. The total corona charge then corresponds to a sum of the corona charges deposited. According to another variation of the method according to the present invention, the total corona charge is determined using a data set of discrete points, preferably by interpolation. The discrete points include the surface photovoltages measured after each of the corona charges and corresponding total corona charges deposited to obtain each of the surface photovoltages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

These and further features of the present invention will be apparent with reference to the following description and drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a semiconductor wafer illustrating principle components of a total charge of an insulating layer;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for measuring a total charge of an insulating layer according the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary graph illustrating how the total charge can be determined by incrementally depositing a corona charge until obtaining a surface photovoltage (SPV) equal to a fixed value; and

FIG. 4 is an exemplary graph illustrating how the total charge can be determined by interpolating a data set of measured surface photovoltages (SPV) and associated total corona charge densities.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus 10 for testing a semiconductor wafer 12 according to the present invention. The semiconductor wafer 12 includes a semiconductor substrate 14 and a dielectric or insulating layer 16 disposed on the substrate 14. The substrate 14 is typically a silicon substrate and the insulating layer 16 is typically an oxide layer. However, it should be understood that the method of the present invention is applicable to a variety of insulating layers grown and/or deposited on substrates of semiconductor materials or metals. An air/dielectric interface 18 is formed at the top surface of the insulating layer 16 and a dielectric/substrate interface 20 is formed between the insulating layer 16 and the substrate 14. A measurement region 22 of the insulating layer 16 is selected to be tested by the apparatus 10.

The illustrated apparatus includes a wafer chuck 24 for holding the wafer 12 during testing, a contactless calibrated corona discharge source or gun 26 for depositing corona charges, a coulombmeter 28 for measuring deposited corona charges, an SPV device 30 for measuring surface photovoltages, a position actuator 34 for locating various components over the wafer 12, and a controller 36 for operating the apparatus 10. The wafer chuck 24 holds the wafer 12 during the measurement process and the wafer 12 is preferably secured to the wafer chuck 24 with a vacuum.

The corona gun 26 includes a non-contact corona-charge depositing structure such as one or more needles 38 and an electrode housing 40 which, along with the needles 38, focuses the corona discharge onto the measurement region 22 of the insulating layer 16. The needles 38 are preferably disposed a distance above the top surface 18 of the insulating layer 16 to minimize fringing effects and other causes of charge deposition non-uniformity. U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,974, expressly incorporated herein in its entirety by reference, discloses a suitable corona gun for depositing corona charge on an insulating layer and a suitable Kelvin probe for measuring the voltage on the surface of the layer.

The needles 38 are connected to a charge biasing means such as a high-voltage power supply 42 via a suitable line. The power supply 42 provides a desired high voltage output (e.g., ±6-12 Kv) to the corona gun 26 to produce positive or negative corona charges depending on the polarity of the supply. The power supply 42 is suitably connected to the controller 36 via an appropriate signal line for feedback control of the power supply 42 during operation of the apparatus 10 as described in more detail hereinafter.

The coulombmeter 28 is used to measure the deposited corona charge and preferably includes a first operational amplifier or current-to-voltage converter 44 and a second operational amplifier or charge integrator 46. The input of current-to-voltage converter 44 is connected via a suitable signal line to the substrate 14 and the wafer chuck 24. A corona current I_(c) flows from the corona gun 26 and through the wafer 12 to the current-to-voltage converter 44. This current I_(c) is converted by the current-to-voltage converter 44 to a voltage and then integrated by the charge integrator 46 to generate a voltage proportional to the charge Q_(c) deposited onto the insulating layer 16 by the corona gun 26. The outputs of the current-to-voltage converter 44 and the charge integrator 46 are each connected to the controller 36 via suitable signal lines to feed the current I_(c) and the deposited corona charge Q_(c) information to the controller 36 during operation of the apparatus 10 as described in more detail hereinafter. Note that an electrical contact between the wafer 12 and the chuck 24 because the regulating displacement currents are sufficient to perform the measurement.

The SPV device 30 is used to measure surface photovoltages of the insulating layer 16 and preferably includes a very high intensity light source 48 such as, for example, a xenon flash tube. It is noted, however, that other types of SPV devices can be used such as, for example, LED, laser, or AC with lock-in.

The position actuator 34 is used to locate the corona gun 26, and the SPV device 30, over the measurement region 22 of the water 12. The position actuator is preferably a high-speed linear translator including a mobile carriage which selectively moves along a track disposed above the wafer chuck 24. The corona gun 26 and the SPV device 30, are each suitably spaced apart and attached to the carriage. A control unit is suitably connected to the controller 36 via an appropriate signal line for feed-back control during operation of the apparatus 10 as described in more detail hereinafter.

The controller 36 is used to control the operation of the apparatus 10 and preferably includes an input device 62 connected via a suitable line. The controller 36 controls the high-voltage power supply 42, the SPV device 30, the Kelvin control 54, and the position actuator control unit 60 and receives information from the current-to-voltage converter 44 and the current integrator 46. Based on the method set forth hereinbelow, the controller 36 can provide a measurement of total charge Q_(tot) of the insulating layer 16. The controller 36 may be, for example, a dedicated microprocessor-based controller or a general purpose computer.

To obtain a total charge Q_(tot) measurement for an insulating layer 16 of a semiconductor wafer 12 according to a first method of the present invention, the actuator preferably first locates the SPV device 30 over the measuring region 22 of the wafer 12 to obtain an initial SPV measurement V_(SPV) of the insulating layer 16. The lamp 48 is flashed and a recording of a peak intensity of the SPV transient is captured by an A/D card of the controller 36. Because of the high intensity output of the lamp 48, a measurable SPV can be obtained in both in accumulation and in depletion or inversion. Note that other types of SPV devices such as, for example, LED, laser, or AC lock-in amplifier can be used.

The position actuator 34 next locates the corona gun 26 over the measuring region 22 of the wafer 12 to deposit a corona charge Q_(c) on the measurement region 22 of the insulating layer 16. The controller 36 provides appropriate control signals for the corona gun 26 to deposit a corona charge Q_(c). The corona charge Q_(c) deposited on the insulating layer 16 is measured by the coulombmeter 28 and recorded by the controller 36.

The position actuator then locates the SPV device 30 over the measuring region 22 of the wafer 12 to again measure the SPV V_(SPV) of the insulating layer 16. The SPV measurement V_(SPV) is preferably recorded by the controller 36 and compared to a predetermined target value V_(SPVtarget) stored in the controller 36. Preferably, the target value V_(SPVtarget) is equal to a fixed value (0 volts) which indicates a “flatband condition”. At flatband, no net charge is present on the insulating layer 16 and no space charge imaging is in the silicon substrate 14. It should be understood that the target value V_(SPVtarget) can be equal to fixed values other than zero. For example, the target value V_(SPVtarget) can be equal to a fixed value (typically about ±0.300 V) which indicates a “Midband condition”. At midband, the SPV V_(SPV) is equal to the fixed value which depends on the doping of the particular substrate 14.

If the SPV measurement V_(SPV) is not substantially equal to the target value V_(SPVtarget), the above described steps of depositing the corona charge Q_(c) and remeasuring the SPV are repeated. If the new SPV measurement V_(SPV) changes beyond the target value V_(SPVtarget) from the previous SPV measurement V_(SPV), the controller 36 provides appropriate control signals for the corona gun 26 to reverse the polarity of the next deposited corona charge Q_(c). Note that for a target value V_(SPVtarget) of zero volts, a change in polarity from the previous SPV measurement to new SPV measurement indicates that the polarity of the next deposited corona charge Q_(c) should be reversed. As required, the controller 36 can adjust the magnitude of the next deposited corona charge Q_(c) to obtain an SPV measurement V_(SPV) equal to the target value V_(SPVtarget).

When the SPV measurement V_(SPV) is substantially equal to the target value V_(SPVtarget), the controller 36 sums each of the individual corona charge increments Q_(c) to obtain a total corona charge Q_(applied@target) applied to the insulating layer 16 to obtain the SPV measurement V_(SPV) equal to the target value V_(SPVtarget). The controller 36 then determines the total charge Q_(tot) of the insulating layer 16 from the total applied corona charge Q_(applied@target) wherein the total charge Q_(tot) is the negative of the total applied corona charge Q_(applied@target), i.e. Q_(tot)=−Q_(applied@target).

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of this first method wherein the target value V_(SPVtarget) is zero volts, or flatband condition. A first corona charge Q_(c) of −0.20E⁻⁰⁷ C/cm₂ is applied on the insulating layer and an SPV measurement V_(SPV) of about 0.090 volts is obtained. A second corona charge Q_(c) of −0.20E⁻⁰⁷ C/cm₂ is then applied on the insulating layer 16 such that the total corona charge Q_(applied) is −0.40E⁻⁰⁷ C/cm₂. The second SPV measurement V_(SPV) is about 0.100 volts. A third corona charge Q_(c) of +0.40E⁻⁰⁷ C/cm₂ is applied on the insulating layer 16 such that the total corona charge Q_(applied) is 0.00E⁻⁰⁷ C/cm₂. The third SPV measurement V_(SPV) is about 0.060 volts. Note that the polarity of the third deposited corona charge Q_(c) was changed, because the SPV measurements V_(SPV) were going away from the target value (zero) and the magnitude of the third deposited corona charge Q_(c) was changed, specifically increased or doubled, to avoid duplicating the first measurement. A fourth corona charge Q_(c) of +0.20E⁻⁰⁷ C/cm₂ is applied on the insulating layer 16 such that the total corona charge Q_(applied) is +0.20E⁻⁰⁷ C/cm₂. The fourth SPV measurement V_(SPV) is about −0.100 volts. A fifth corona charge Q_(c) of −0.10E⁻⁰⁷ C/cm₂ is applied on the insulating layer 16 such that the total corona charge Q_(applied) is +0.10E⁻⁰⁷ C/cm₂. The fifth SPV measurement V_(SPV) is about 0.000 volts and substantially equal to the target value V_(SPVtarget). Note that the polarity of the fifth deposited corona charge Q_(c) was changed because the fourth SPV measurement V_(SPV) went past the target value (zero) V_(SPVtarget) and the magnitude of the fifth deposited corona charge Q_(c) was changed, specifically reduced by half, to avoid duplicating the third measurement. Therefore, the total applied corona charge Q_(applied@target) to obtain the target value V_(SPVtarget) is +0.10E⁻⁰⁷ C/cm₂. The controller 36 then determines the total charge Q_(tot) of the insulating layer is +0.10E⁻⁰⁷ C/cm₂.

In a second method of measuring the total charge Q_(tot) of the insulating layer 16 according to the present invention, the position actuator 34 alternately locates the corona gun 26 and the SPV device 30 over the measuring region 22 of the wafer 12 to deposit increments of corona charge Q_(c) on the insulating layer 16 and to obtain SPV measurements V_(SPV) of the insulating layer 16. The controller 36 records each SPV measurement V_(SPV) and determines and records the total corona charge Q_(applied) applied to the insulating layer 16 to obtain that SPV measurement V_(SPV). Therefore, a data set is obtained containing the plurality of SPV measurements V_(SPV) along with the corresponding total applied corona charges Q_(applied). The controller 36 then determines the total applied corona charge Q_(applied@target) required for the SPV measurement V_(SPV) to be substantially equal to the target value V_(SPVtarget) from the data set. The value Q_(applied@target) is preferably interpolated from the data set of discrete points. The controller 36 then determines the total charge Q_(tot) of the insulating layer 16 from the total applied corona charge Q_(appliedatarget) wherein the total charge Q_(tot) is again the negative of the total applied corona charge Q_(applied@target), i.e. Q_(tot)=−Q_(applied@target). FIG. 4 illustrates an example of this second method wherein the target value V_(SPVtarget) is zero volts, or flatband condition. A data set is obtained by incrementally depositing a plurality of corona charges Q_(c) on the insulating layer and obtaining a SPV measurement V_(SPV) for each incremental deposition. The illustrated data set contains 19 discrete points containing the SPV measurements V_(SPV) and the corresponding total applied corona charges Q_(applied). The controller 36 interpolates the discrete points to determine that the total applied corona charge Q_(applied@target) at the target value V_(SPVtarget) is about +0.10E⁻⁰⁷ C/cm₂. The controller 36 then determines the total charge Q_(tot) of the insulating layer is +0.10E⁻⁰⁷ C/cm₂.

When the target value V_(SPVtarget) is zero volts, each of the SPV measurements V_(SPV) are preferably corrected with a small Dember Voltage correction in either of the methods. The Dember Voltage correction is a small “second order” correction which can be applied via well known equations.

It should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and that various changes may be made by adding, modifying or eliminating details without departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in this disclosure. The invention is therefore not limited to particular details of this disclosure except to the extent that the following claims are necessarily so limited. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for measuring a total charge of an insulating layer on a substrate, said method comprising the steps of: (a) depositing measured amounts of corona charges on the insulating layer; (b) measuring a surface photovoltage for the insulating layer after depositing each of said measured amounts; (c) determining a total corona charge from said measured amounts corresponding to obtaining a surface photovoltage measurement equal to a predetermined fixed value; and (d) using said total corona charge to determine the total charge of the insulating layer.
 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of measuring a charge density for each of said deposited corona charges.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said fixed value is associated with a flatband condition.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said fixed value is about 0.0 volts.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said fixed value is associated with a midband condition.
 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said fixed value is about ±0.3 volts.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of determining said total corona charge includes continuing to deposit said corona charges until the surface photovoltage measured is equal said fixed value and said total corona charge corresponds to a sum of said corona charges deposited.
 8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of reversing polarity of said corona charges if said surface photovoltage changes in a direction away from said fixed value.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of determining said total corona charge includes using a data set of discrete points, wherein said discrete points include said surface photovoltages measured after depositing said corona charges and corresponding total corona charges deposited to obtain said surface photovoltages.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said step of using said data set includes interpolating said total corona charge from said discrete points.
 11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of correcting each surface photovoltage with a Dember Voltage. 